Is dark chocolate healthy for kids? Green & Black's 70% facts

Dark chocolate: snack check

• Added sugar
  9 g added sugar per 30 g (FDC 2586029)
• Not highly processed
  Chocolate liquor, cane sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla only
• Has protein or fiber
  3 g fiber per 30 g, above 2.8 g; protein 3 g (FDC)
• Not on choking lists
  Not named on AAP or CDC choking lists

Each check is a yes-or-no fact with its source: a green check means the flag does not apply, an amber mark means it does. The count is not a health score. Our sources and how we check them.

Numbers: USDA FoodData Central, Branded Foods, FDC 2586029 (Green & Black's Organic Dark 70% Cacao), label data. Checked October 2026.

What's in it

Green & Black's Organic 70% lists organic chocolate liquor, cane sugar, cocoa butter, and vanilla extract. Per 30 g: 170 calories, 13 g of fat (8 g saturated), 14 g of carbohydrates, 3 g of fiber, 9 g of sugars (all added), 3 g of protein, and 0 mg of sodium (FDC 2586029; a 2023 record for the non-organic 70% bar lists 10 mg). Hershey's Special Dark (41 g bar) lists 21 g of added sugar per bar, with milk fat, soy lecithin, PGPR, and natural flavor (FDC 2754231).

Caffeine and theobromine

USDA FoodData Central (FDC 170273, dark chocolate 70–85% cacao) lists 80 mg of caffeine and 802 mg of theobromine per 100 g, or about 23 mg of caffeine and 227 mg of theobromine per ounce (28 g). Darker chocolate has more cocoa solids. The 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines advise kids 5–10 to avoid caffeinated beverages; they do not set a number for chocolate.

Lead and cadmium

In December 2022, Consumer Reports tested 28 dark chocolate bars and found lead and cadmium in all of them. For 23 bars, an ounce a day would put an adult over a level CR's experts use, based on California's maximum allowable dose levels; CR says there are no federal limits for the amount of lead and cadmium most foods can contain. CR advises not giving kids much dark chocolate, saying the younger you are, the bigger the threat from heavy metals, and says not to assume organic dark chocolate is safer: in its tests, organic bars were just as likely to have concerning levels. Green & Black's was among the brands CR tested.

For kids 4–8

The 2025–2030 Guidelines set a ceiling of 10 g of added sugar per meal; one 30 g serving of a 70% bar has 9 g. A square or two is a common portion for young children. Chocolate bars are not named on the AAP or CDC choking lists; bars with whole nuts contain a listed food. Milk and soy appear in many bars' ingredient lists, so check allergens on the label.

Does dark chocolate have caffeine?

Yes. USDA lists about 23 mg of caffeine and 227 mg of theobromine per ounce of 70–85% dark chocolate (FDC 170273).

Is chocolate healthy?

We share facts, not ratings. A 30 g serving of a 70% bar has 170 calories and 9 g of added sugar; sweeter dark bars, such as Hershey's Special Dark, list 21 g of added sugar per 41 g bar.

Is there lead in dark chocolate?

Consumer Reports found lead and cadmium in all 28 dark chocolate bars it tested in 2022; 23 were over its reference level for at least one metal at an ounce a day for an adult.

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